The TD Bank Group seems to be on a mission to go paperless, and Karen Clarke-Whistler, chief environment officer of the company, is a big reason for that.
According to an interview with Financial Post, there is a new initiative at the bank to reduce 20 percent of the company’s paper use within three years and increase the area of protected forest habitat.
Moving to an electronic based system is be a good way to kickstart any paperless-or less paper-initiative.
| “Banks are absolutely huge consumers of paper,” Clarke-Whistler said. “I think the current benchmark is 10,000 pages of office paper per person. We need to raise awareness of the fact that paper isn’t just a commodity, but something that has value when you use it. It’s not just value in the business, it’s a natural resource product and we want to make sure people understand how these things are connected. The main proposal in TD Forests isn’t to plant more trees, but to protect critical forest habitat because right across the country forest habitats are under huge threat.” |
In order to reduce paper use, Clarke-Whistler said they are looking to increase the online offering for customers, adding that they polled customers to see what they think they could do to be more environmentally friendly and 50 percent said to reduce paper.
About four out of five TD customers open accounts online now and 9 million customers have paperless banking options, so she said the willingness to cut ties with paper goes far beyond a poll.
From a customer’s perspective, paperless banking is beneficial; it supports the environmental cause of the bank while cutting some of the paper out of their personal lives as well.
CNN Money offered suggestions for businesses to reduce their paper consumption properly.
Convert to eFiling
For those concerned about the security and legality of electronic records, CNN Money suggests keeping an electronic filing cabinet on your computer to organize and retain important financial records.
Electronic documents hold the same legal weight as their paper counterparts, so the key is simply proper management.
Mimic your current organization and retention practices, but create them on the computer rather than a filing cabinet.
Review, Track & Manage
Old habits die hard and it can be daunting trying to manage invoices, statements, contracts and financial data electronically simply because you are not accustomed to it.
“Stay vigilant by signing up for email alerts notifying you when a bill or statement is available,” CNN Money said. “Keep the messages marked ‘unread’ until you act on them.”
Set up an efficient system and stick with it.
Protect Critical Data
Electronic records can actually be safer than their paper counterparts, but ultimately there are still risks-those risks have simply changed.
Back up vital data and information regularly. Set a specific schedule for doing so, such as every Sunday evening.
Consider storing information on the cloud when applicable to reduce the risk of losing valuable information.
Choose secure passwords and update them periodically.
Although electronic document management provides businesses with numerous benefits, not all solutions are the same.
Companies must make sure to research each option carefully before choosing a vendor, in order to ensure they’re getting the most value for their dollar.
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About Jonathan Beaton
It is good to reduce use of paper and contribute in environment properly. By applying this method we can cut use of paper at large scale. Thanks for sharing this information to reducing use of paper.